(2016) I've been reading this one since January, but it refused to be read faster. I've had to take it in more manageable chunks, contemplate its points, and follow up on some of its references. Such an insightful, thorough book -- I had several lightbulb moments while reading. I'll seek out more by Kendi but I know I'll also return to this one

(1966) “The Three-Killer“

Because (plot), Captain Arl Tratlo races to Andromeda's forbidden zone for a meeting with Perry Rhodan. Tratlo arrives first at the rendezvous point, where his ship is shot down by a Tefroder battleship. Tratlo crashes on a nearby planet, where he and his crew discover a secret Tefroder base and must stay alive until Rhodan arrives. It's a pretty good adventure, and adds to the mystery of the new adversaries.

I'd been sitting on my #BookSpin #DoubleSpin #Bookspinbingo list because of a couple of titles I wasn't sure I'd finish by the deadline. But the #BookSpin picks are out early and I MUST KNOW, so here's my list before I go take a peek.

Thanks @thearomaofbooks !

Here's my list for March #readYourKindle : a random-ish selection from my List of unread ebooks.

Thanks for hosting, @cbee !

Google Translate renders “ich kippe aus den Latschen“ as “I'll freak out,“ but literally it's “I'll tip out of the slippers“, as in: “I'll tip out of my slippers if I have to stay here another minute longer.“

My brand-new quest for the week is to find an opportunity to say, “I'll tip out of my slippers.“

(1968) This is one of my favorite Nortons, so I was happy to read it again for #classiclsfbc . For me, this hits a sweet spot of straightforward adventure with some of Norton's favorite tropes but without her sometimes-excessively mannered prose style. Others in the group were underwhelmed, which is (sigh) but also fine: I've bounced off more than a few Nortons too, and what's a sweet spot for me won't be for others. Looking forward to next month!

(2024) It begins as a wish-fulfillment fantasy about a bookstore employee who comes into possession of a magical book that lets her go anywhere in the world by walking through a door. It turns darker when she learns there are other magical books, some owned and used by malicious people. By story's end, it's the kind of twisty plot-driven supernatural thriller where things don't make sense until they do. It's much fun.

In Kellner Books on the Upper East Side of New York City, a few minutes before his death, John Webber was reading The Count of Monte Cristo.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

(1966) “In the Realm of the Center Guardians“

Perry, Atlan, Gucky, and Icho Tolot sneak onto Tefrod, the heavily-guarded home planet of the aliens who guard whatever secrets lie at the center of the Andromeda Galaxy. Given the threat that the Tefroders represent, it's almost comical how easily Perry and team can break in, poke around, and leave again. It's disappointing, and even a little silly, but we do learn a little more about Tefroders.

(2024) Nat and Jess remember being snatched out of their world by a flying shadow monster with sharp claws and teeth, then waking up in scarred bodies to someone else's life. They are desperate for a way to put things back but when somebody offers a remedy, how can they trust it? It's a creepy, deliberately paced, and ruminative story about trauma, family, identity, and monster-things with sharp teary-slashy parts. I'd read more by Breukelaar

(1981) The Enterprise crew is charged with transporting the king and princess of a planet with rare mineral reserves. The king dies, Kirk goes spy-hunting, and Spock and McCoy take the princess to retrieve a crown that will prove her legitimacy as the king's successor. Mixed feelings: there's a lot going on here, too much for its length really. But McCoy gets a spotlight that is not wasted, and the Spock/Bones dynamic feels about right.

“It's gray, Jim,“ said Dr. Leonard McCoy.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

(1966) “Restricted Zone in Andromeda“

Perry wants to learn about the mysterious rulers of the Andromeda Galaxy, the “Masters of the Island.“ He theorizes that the MotI can be found in a forbidden zone at Andromeda's center, so he leads an expedition into the zone where he encounters a new mystery: the center is patrolled by Tefroders, aliens who are biologically and technologically indistinguishable from Terrans.

(2021) Two very different women both arrive in NY on the same day, both escaping difficult relationships with damaged (and damaging) men. One of them is soon a victim of violence; the other finds the first's body on her morning run. The dead woman narrates as the survivor deals with trauma and the murder investigation. It's an exploration of living and dying with misogyny, and just enough thriller to keep you turning pages. I liked it well.

(1963) Scary how this is not only as relevant as ever, but also that we're on a trajectory that aspires to take back whatever baby steps we've reluctantly taken since Jim Crow.

James we did not listen, and I am sorry to report we're not listening still.

(1966) Perry and a team of Terrans are stranded on the planet Bengal fighting zombie plant-people while the CREST III desperately tries to reach them. But *something* seems to be warping space and time around the CREST to keep them away. This one does a nice job of following multiple plot threads, introducing an interesting adversary with long-term potential, and mining backstory, just the kind of story that makes PR fun.

(1735) The young Count of Comminge and his first cousin accidentally fall in love but their fathers hate each other. Complications ensue: declarations of devotion, parental demands, forceful separations and forbidden rendezvous, and buckets and bathtubs of tears. I understand this was wildly popular in its time and influenced early gothic novels, but to this modern reader the melodrama is a lot of very much.

Dear James, I have begun this letter five times and torn it up five times.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

(2020) It's YA adventure set in the universe of the videogame Overwatch. When a super-powered villain threatens her city, a young genius roboticist scrambles to build and train a robot that can fight back. It's very YA with its plucky teens, its clueless adults, and its lessons about friendship and perseverance. I am not in the target audience, but it feels like a perfectly fine example of the kind of thing it is

(2023) Author Budde recently became Internet famous for preaching mercy in the presence of Maga Jesus. Back in 2020, she responded to one of his stunts in which he brandished an inverted Bible for a photo-op outside a church in her diocese. This book is in part a response to conversations around the 2020 event: an extended meditation on bravery, what it is, opportunities to exercise it, and how exercising bravery can become a habit. I liked it

(2013) it's exactly what the title promises. Most of the stories are extremely short, just long enough to set up an idea but not long enough to do anything with it. They're fine, and a couple of the stories I'd like to have seen at greater length, but mostly I'm just happy to be able to mark off a #ReadYourKindle pick.

... And here's my #Bookspinbingo card for February. I'm feeling good about it. Good luck everyone! And thanks @thearomaofbooks !

I still haven't finished any of my #readYourKindle picks for January, but time marches and here are picks for February. I've been warned the Star Trek episode is awful, but I've heard good things about the Hamilton, and don't remember why I picked up the other two. They were free, probably. I hope to get to at least two of these and make up for my disappointing show last month.

(1956) Second in the author's “Solar Queen“ series, which follows the adventures of an independent trading spaceship. In this one, the Queen's crew deal with claim jumpers and then, en route back home, with a mysterious illness that incapacitates most of the crew. The plot has them defying quarantine regulations in ways that sometimes made me cringe, but the adventure is solid and the pace steady.

My #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin reads for February. Honestly, I have no recollection why I added Before You Knew My Name to my TBR or what it's about, but I gather it's some sort of thriller. Expectations of “The Covenant of the Crown“ are a little firmer: I don't know what or why, but I conjecture that the Enterprise crew will save the universe again or something like that.

Thanks for hosting @thearomaofbooks !

(1977) Third(ish) in Moorcock's series about the brooding antihero Elric, this volume collects four previously-published stories, including the earliest Elric short stories. This is a darker version of Elric than the first two volumes. He's less relatable here, more volatile and self-destructive, emphasizing the “anti“ in antihero, which makes him an even more interesting character.

My January #ReadYourKindle was a bust -- I only got halfway through one pick, and though I still expect to finish it, I won't finish in January. Hoping for better results in February.

Thanks for hosting @cbee !

My #BookSpin #DoubleSpin #BookSpinBingo list for February

Thanks @TheAromaOfBooks !

(1950) I read this repeatedly in Junior high and high school, but it's been maybe thirty years since my last visit. The stories have lost some charm: Bradbury's fondness for small-town life is a faith I no longer share. And the idea of colonists recreating mid-twentieth-century Midwestern life on Mars now feels more disturbing than nostalgic. But several stories still effectively evoke a mood for me, not bad for a book pushing 75. #classiclsfbc

(2024) I'm not much a reader of poetry, and this read won't change my habits, but I'm in admiring respect of author Shanté's open heart, sharp understanding, and skillful phrasing in this collection that describes and rejects the boxes that Black girls are forced into.

“I want to live in a world where Black girls get to be free.“

So do I, poet.

(2024) I'm a late convert to "cozy" fantasy and SF, but I appreciate the things it tries to do. I liked the THITCS pretty well, and this follow-up is about as faithful as I could have asked for in terms of tone and characterization.

(1966) “Advance into the Dark World“

To seal an alliance with the cosmic engineer and “Paddler“ Kalak, Perry agrees to help Kalak search for other Paddlers. Following clues from Kalak's last communication with his compatriots, the Terrans arrive at a jungle planet deep inside the dark nebula Hades. There they find surviving Paddlers who are slowly losing a war of attrition against intelligent plants that turn their victims into zombies.

(1977) A body-hopping immortal spends centuries breeding a new psychically gifted (and socially stunted) master race. But his plan depends on maintaining control of his descendants -- control that is challenged when one of his daughters matures into an unexpectedly powerful telepath. It's a meditation on power, race, and trauma, though it was not always clear to me where Butler was going with it. I understand later books add useful context.

(1977) The Gor series is basically Barsoom for incels and readers with a particular BDSM kink. I'm not a fan but then I'm not exactly the target audience. Good news is, the next few reads in the DAW project promise to be much better (and very different)

(2021) Here's a tight crime novella about a father in rural France who, in a near-inexplicable fit of rage, killed a neighboring family of five. Based on a real case, it's a hard look at the kind of disappointments, jealousies, and resentments that contribute to violence. Not an easy read, or the kind of thing one "enjoys", but also not easy to set aside or forget.

(1966) “The World of the Regenerated“

In episode no. 251, the Terrans' flagship CREST III was hijacked by “biosplitters“: diminutive aliens with hypnotic powers and the ability to regenerate after most deaths. In this one, the biosplitters take the CREST to their home (dinosaur-inhabited) planet. Perry, Atlan, and Gucky follow along with their new friend Kalak to rescue the ship. It's fun, and makes more sense than last episode.

(1734) Thomas Bluett's account of Job, an enslaved man from West Africa, is one of the earliest American slavery narratives and interesting on several points. With Bluett's assistance, Job traveled to England where he became something of a celebrity known for his charm and scholarship, and he was able to raise money to return home. It's a surprising story, and one new to me.

(2023) Alien invasion aboard a failing generation ship. It's atmospheric and plot-driven, and I loved the adventure. Yes, the aliens resemble the baddies from the Alien franchise, but I didn't mind that nearly as much as a last-minute twist that felt inconsistent to the rest of the piece. So I'm just going to say I found it a blast and give it a “pick“ while pretending the last few pages didn't happen. Somebody oughtta make a movie

(1981) The Enterprise is called to the planet Alnath, into a situation involving a mysterious archaeological dig, a Klingon dreadnought in orbit, and a shipful of dead Vulcan scientists. Shortly after arrival, the crew begins acting in out-of-character, impulsive ways. The story's okay, except for bits that haven't aged well (though Kirk and Scotty admiring a junior officer's ass must have already been a little cringey even in 1981, surely)

(2022) It's a historical fantasy set in the ninth century, following the travels of an Icelander across Europe, looking for horses to bring back to Iceland to make his fortune. The author is a medievalist, and brings her knowledge of the time and its literary forms to the story. I am not a medievalist, but do know she delivered a mesmerizing story that feels authentic about ambition, social change, and (of course) horses.

(2022) I love Neil deGrasse Tyson, but the farther he strays from astrophysics the more he's just another smart dude with Opinions. Good stuff here to think about but on many subjects there's plenty of reason to disagree without deserving the charge of "unscientific thinking."

(1861) Chronicles the evil career of Jabez North -- foundling, fraudster, murderer, genius -- and the efforts by one of his victims to bring Jabez to justice. It's very busy, depends on unlikely coincidences, takes unnecessary detours, then wraps abruptly in a crowded finale that tries to resolve all the loose subplots with handwavey exposition. And yet I liked it: for all its silliness it's also a lot of fun and the snappy writing kept me smiling

(2024) It's complicated relationship drama, set in a colony world where a blob-like phenomenon occasionally targets entire species for annihilation. For me the soap opera and the space peril never really integrated well, and it almost felt like an old-fashioned mashup of two stories that weren't made with each other in mind. Once the last act got going, though, it kept my attention nicely.

I don‘t suppose it rained harder in the good town of Slopperton-on-the-Sloshy than it rained anywhere else.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

(2017) Six years ago, a white family's baby died while in the care of Mary's mother. The blame fell on Mary, who has just been released from 6 years in "baby jail" to a group home. But what really happened and will the truth ever out? Mixed feelings about this: it has multiple strengths but ultimately didn't work for me due to a gimmicky resolution. OTOH, the audiobook is read by Bahni Turpin, who is always a pleasure to hear.

(1984) Here's a collection of short pieces: anecdotes, character sketches, meditations as written by a Latina girl growing up in an urban Chicago neighborhood. The pieces are gorgeous, with language so efficient and evocative they feel more like poems than short stories. Themes of growing up, family, finding joy in a world that will casually devour you, and the tension between duties to oneself and to the community who builds one. I liked it much

December was a good reading month for me, and I have several excellent books to choose among. But I expect nothing is going to stick with me like this story about an orphan boy raised by a giant snake.

That wraps #12Booksof2024 for me. It's been fun reviewing my 2024 reading and fun seeing everyone else's picks too. Thanks to @Andrew65 for hosting!

(1966) "The Army of Bio-splitters"

Perry and the crew of the super-battleship CREST-III are hanging out on a space shipyard when three ships make an uncontrolled landing nearby. The new arrivals appear harmless and their technology is inferior, so Perry allows them access to the CREST -- not realizing that they also have natural hypnotic powers that make his decision a big mistake. Besides Perry's out-of-character call, it's a fun development.

My November pick for #12Booksof2024 succinctly and elegantly describes the situation we're in, and offers real strategies for facing it with integrity. For me it has provoked much thought, many conversations, and practical preparations. I don't want this to be the best book I read in 2024, but right now it feels like it may be

@Andrew65

And here's my bingo card for January. I like my chances: I see one very likely bingo and a couple of probablies. The month is young!

Thanks for hosting @TheAromaofBooks !